During a stop-over in Antigua by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Venezuela in what is called his tour across the region, Prime Minister Gaston Browne reiterated his country’s solidarity with the South American nation. Browne expressed gratitude for the PetroCaribe debt reduction and thanks the people of Venezuela for responding to the crisis which the country faced after the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma last September.

Earlier this week on Tuesday, the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Saint Lucia to the United Nations, His Excellency Cosmos Richardson signed a Joint Communiqué with his counterpart Her Excellency Nguyen Phuong Nga, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, to formally establish relations. Discussions between the two Missions will continue thereafter so as to establish a platform for cooperation.

Questions are being raised as to whether the recent decision by Canada to have Caribbean nationals, including Antiguans, to travel to Trinidad to apply for a visa, is as a result of security concerns over the Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP). The opinion is being shared by regional pollster and political analyst, Peter Wickham. He also said that although there will be attempts to talk to Canadian officials on the matter, he believes that there will not be a change of mind.

A team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was in Nevis yesterday to conduct its Annual Article IX Consultation, in order to review the economy. Premier Mark Brantley welcomed the team and described the meeting as an important engagement. The Premier also took that opportunity to present the team with a summary of the programmes and policies of the Nevis Island Administration for 2018.

The High Court in Barbados can no longer impose mandatory death sentences on convicted murders. The island’s highest court, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) struck down that mandatory penalty on the grounds that it is unconstitutional. That judgment was delivered in a pair of unrelated death penalty cases where the appeals challenged the murder convictions of the accused and the constitutionality of the mandatory death sentence.

On Monday this week, Deputy Prime Minister Reginald Austrie brought before parliament a resolution for the authorisation of a credit facility from the International Development Association (IDA) or World Bank for the Dominica’s Housing Recovery Project. The Government of Dominica is expected to contract a credit facility in the amount of EC$27 million or US$7 million. Austrie said about 1700 homeowners will be provided with a subsidy in the form of a grant of EC$42 000.

The town of Vauclin, in the French overseas territory of Martinique, will play host to the Conference of Caribbean Countries on Cultural and Associative Exchanges from 29th June to 4th July 2018. The Mayor of the Castries, Peterson Francis, will join counterparts from the region to discuss developmental opportunities with significant emphasis on building cultural and commercial relations among the countries of the region.